Maynard, MA, USA: Beacon-Villager newspaper column on local history, observations on nature and recreational activities, plus an occasional health-related article. Columns from 2009-11 collected into book "MAYNARD: History and Life Outdoors." Columns from 2012-14 collected into book "Hidden History of Maynard." - David A. Mark

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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

History books about Stow or Maynard

Anyone with curiosity about the history of their home town
begins by asking themselves the question "Is there a book?" For both Stow and Maynard, the
answer is resoundingly, "Yes."

Stow's
count is seven books. Maynard's count is fourteen books, plus four more about
Digital Equipment Corporation (Digital/DEC), which was headquartered in Maynard
1957-1998. That combined total of twenty-five books is very impressive for two towns
with a combined population of under 17,000 people.

1921 history (50th anniversary)

The high count is primarily due to seven paperbacks
published by Arcadia Publishing (Images of America and Postcard History series)
and three by The History Press, each of which turn out hundreds of local history
books every year. All ten of these came out within the past 15 years. AP's
format is long on photos and short on words, while THP's is the opposite. In both their business models, any book that sells more than 1,000 copies in the first
few years is a rousing success.

Many of the older books were written to coincide with
a significant anniversary: 100th for St. Bridget's Church; 50th, 100th and 125th for Maynard; 250th and 300th for Stow.
The Maynard Historical Society has in mind a new book to celebrate the town's
150th anniversary, April 2021.

In addition to all these history books (copies at town
libraries), both towns boast active historic societies, historical commissions,
official websites and Wikipedia entries with history sections. Given all this
content, either archived or on line, is there any grist for future historians?

Six of the books currently in print

Always. Because history is always happening. Historic
buildings are demolished or repurposed. Companies rise and fall. The meteoric rise
and subsequent cratering of 38 Studios (née Green Monster Games) may have been
too fast to be book-worthy. The Monster Board, later Monster.com, and now
Monster Worldwide is clearly a book-worthy story. The company, which helped
spell the end of newspaper job ads, was famous for its chimpanzee-starring Superbowl
advertisements, but missed the social networking aspect of job search, and thus
finds itself with a corporate valuation of less than five percent of
LinkedIn.

LIST OF BOOKS (Maynard, Stow and Digital)

Aaltonen, Frank. (1941). Maynard Weavers - the story of the United Co-operative Society of Maynard.
Boothroyd, Joseph and Elizabeth Schnair and Ralph Sheridan.
(1981). St. Bridget's of Maynard 1881-1891.